Golf tee and related methods

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an improved golf tee.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR Development

Not applicable.

The Names of the Parties to a Joint Research Agreement

Not applicable.

Reference to an Appendix Submitted on a Compact Disc and Incorporated by Reference of the Material on the Compact Disc

Not applicable.

Statement Regarding Prior Disclosures by the Inventor or a Joint Inventor

Reserved for a later date, if necessary.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of Invention

The disclosed subject matter is in the field of golf and golf tees.

Background of the Invention

Golf is a sport that involves a player striking or hitting a ball (“golf ball”) with a club until the ball falls into a targeted hole. A golf tee is a device used to hold in a golf ball stationary while raising it above the ground for the player's initial strike or hit. While the ball is hit when raised, it offers lower resistance, which allows the golfer to hit the ball a greater distance, than if the ball was on the turf.

Traditionally, golf tees are made of wood or plastic, with a bottom stem made to pierce the turf and anchor the tee in the ground. The top of the tee is typically concave to hold and stabilize the ball before it is hit.

Unfortunately, due to the design of the typical golf tee, it is unable to hold the ball without being anchored perpendicular to the turf. Although the concave top allows the ball to rest in place, it does not provide any further support. Unless the tee is straight up the ball will not stay in place, meaning that golfers are unable to use a tee inserted into the turf at an angle. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved golf tee to provide golfers with a tee that is more stable and effective at holding a golf ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee that may provide a more stable base for holding a golf ball raised above the turf.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee that allows a golf ball to be stably raised above the ground even when the tee is not inserted into the turf at a ninety-degree angle.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved golf tee that allows users to make fine rotational adjustments and positioning of the golf ball to provide a desired angle to strike the ball from.

In view of the foregoing objectives, disclosed may be an improved golf tee comprising: an upper crown with a ball; a lower stem with a socket; wherein the crown and stem are connected by the ball and the socket joined as a ball-and-socket joint; and, wherein the angle of the crown relative to the ground is adjusted from an initial position to secondary positions by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the ball-and-socket joint and relative to the lower stem. In one embodiment, the upper crown may further comprise eight crown arms. In another embodiment, the crown arms may include rounded crown edges. In yet another embodiment, the rounded crown edges could be equal in size to a turbulator of a golf ball. Sometimes, the upper crown includes a crown base and the crown base could be attached to the ball of the ball-and-socket joint. Other times or at the same time, the lower stem may include a stem base comprising the socket attached to the opposite end of the stem base. Furthermore, the ball-and-socket joint has at least one socket cutout.

In use, the angle of the crown relative to the ground can preferably be adjusted to tilt between 75 and 105 degrees while holding a golf ball by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the socket and relative to the lower stem.

Other objectives of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. These objectives are not to be construed as limitations of applicant's invention, but are merely aimed to suggest some of the many benefits that may be realized by the apparatus of the present application and with its many embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objectives of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the invention has been shown and described. The manner in which these objectives and other desirable characteristics can be obtained is explained in the following description and attached figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved golf tee;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a back side view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a right side view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 8 is an expanded perspective view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the adjustable rotation of the golf tee of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 10 is an environmental view of the golf tee of FIG. 1 .

In the figures, the following reference numeral designate the below

-   identified components: -   Upper crown [10]; -   Rounded crown edge(s) [11]; -   Crown arm(s) [12]; -   Crown base [13]; -   Crown ornaments [14]; -   Lower stem [20]; -   Stem base [21]; -   Socket [30]; -   Socket cutout(s) [31]; and, -   Ball-and-socket joint [40].

It is to be noted, however, that the appended figures illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments that will be appreciated by those reasonably skilled in the relevant arts. Also, figures are not necessarily made to scale but are representative.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Other assembly methods may be practiced depending on the use of alternative embodiments described herein, and will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an improved golf tee. In a preferred embodiment, the golf tee is made of plastic because plastic has been found to have adequate strength to hold its shape while supporting a golf ball. The typical components of this invention include, but are not limited to, an upper crown 10. The upper crown 10 is the top component of the improved golf tee and has eight crown arms 12. The crown arms 12 extend out from the crown's 10 center opposite the turf and provide support for the golf ball to keep it elevated above the turf when it is placed on the golf tee. Continuing out from the crown 10, the crown arms 12 end in rounded crown edges 11; the edges 11 provide further support for the golf ball because the rounded edges 11 are equal in size to a golf ball's turbulators. The edges' 11 size allows the tee to stably hold a golf ball while the crown 10 is rotated and manipulated when the tee is planted in the turf. The crown 10 also has a crown base 13, which is located opposite the rounded crown edges 11.

The crown base 13 is the lower component of the crown 10 which provides support for the crown 10 and the crown arms 12. The crown base 13 may also contain multiple crown ornaments 14; the ornaments 14 both provide a decorative look to the upper crown 10 and crown base 13 while also giving the user additional grip and purchase on the crown 10 when rotating and manipulating the golf tee. Located at the lower side of the crown bottom 13, opposite the rounded crown edges 11, is a ball 15; the ball 15 is part of the ball-and-socket joint 40 and allows the crown 10 to be rotationally manipulated to adjust the yaw, pitch, and roll of the golf tee while still supporting the golf ball.

To form the ball-and-socket joint 40, the ball 15 is attached to a socket 30 that is attached to a lower stem 20. The socket 30 provides support for the ball 15 and upper crown 10 and allows the crown 10 to rotate when the user moves the crown 10. The ball 15 and socket 30 can be attached by applying pressure from the ball 15 into the socket 30, causing the two parts to snap together and form the ball-and-socket joint 40. When attaching the ball 15 and socket 30, the socket 30 contains multiple socket cut-outs 31; the cut-outs 31 are evenly spaced around the socket 30 to give the necessary flexibility to allow the ball-and-socket joint 40 to form without the socket 30 breaking, cracking, or warping. The cut-outs 31 also provide support for the crown's 10 rotation with the ball-and-socket joint 40 by giving the socket 30 some flexibility while the user adjusts the crown's 10 yaw, pitch, and roll. The lower stem 20 also has a stem base 21, which is located opposite the socket 30. The stem base 21 is tapered to come to an end with a smaller diameter than the remainder of the lower stem 20, like a traditional golf tee, to allow the improved golf tee to more easily be pressed and anchored into turf. Anchoring the improved golf tee holds the golf ball still and steady above the turf to give the user a better chance to hit the ball without the added friction from the turf.

FIG. 2 is a front view; FIG. 3 is a back side view; FIG. 4 is a right side view; and FIG. 5 is a left side view of the improved golf tee. All four of these views show that the golf tee, upper crown 10, crown base 13, ball 15, lower stem 20, and stem base 21 are uniform and symmetrical. The socket 30 is not symmetrical because of the socket cut-outs 31. For example, FIG. 3 is a back view of the golf tee, and two socket cut-outs 31 are visible, in comparison to FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 where only one socket cut-out is 31 visible.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the improved golf tee. The top view is what the user would see looking down over the golf tee after it has been anchored into the turf. The view is entirely the upper crown 10 because it has a wider diameter than the lower stem 20 or socket 30. The center is the crown base 13, with the multiple crown arms 12 pointing away from the turf and stem base 21 and located around the perimeter of the crown base 13. Continuing away from the crown base 13, each of the crown arms 12 end with the rounded crown edges 11; the crown edges 11 are where the golf ball makes contact with the golf tee, and provide the support to stably hold the golf ball.

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the improved golf tee. The bottom view is what would be seen looking up from under the turf when the golf tee is anchored in the turf. The center of the bottom view is the stem base 21, which is also the part of the golf tee that makes first contact with the turf and is buried deepest into the turf. Wider than the stem base 21 is the lower stem 20, which is visible here because the stem base 21 has a smaller diameter than the lower stem 20 due to the base 21 being tapered.

The socket 30 is on top of the lower stem 20 and is visible outside the lower stem 20; the socket 30 is this wide to support the ball 15, which in turn supports a golf ball on the top of the golf tee. The multiple crown arms 12 and crown edges 11 are outside of the socket 30 and are the golf tee parts that make contact with the golf ball when holding it.

FIG. 8 is an expanded perspective view of the improved golf tee. The expanded view shows the golf tee before the upper crown 10 is attached to the lower stem 20 to complete the ball-and-socket joint 40. To combine the two parts, the user applies downward pressure to the upper crown 10 and ball 15 and upward pressure to the lower stem 20 and socket 30 to form the ball-and-socket joint 40.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the adjustable rotation of the improved golf tee. The upper crown 10 can be adjusted and manipulated through the ball-and-socket joint 40 to change the yaw, pitch, and roll of the upper crown 10 in relation to the turf and lower stem 20. The rounded crown edges 11 hold the golf ball and keep the ball stable while the crown 10 is manipulated. The socket 30 provides the boundaries for how far the upper crown 10 can be rotated; it allows for adjustment and rotation between 75 and 105 degrees in relation to flat turf while still holding and supporting the golf ball. Additionally, the rotation of the crown 10 from the ball-and-socket joint 40 allows for the user to align a golf ball perfectly perpendicular with the ground even if the lower stem 20 is inserted into the turf at an angle; these adjustments allow the user to set up and start playing golf faster by avoiding the need to find a perfectly flat spot of turf to anchor the tee in.

FIG. 10 is an environmental view of the improved golf tee. The environmental view shows the lower stem 20 anchored into the turf and the upper crown's 10 rounded crown edges 11 supporting a golf ball. This view shows the golf tee without any rotation or manipulation to the yaw, pitch, or roll, although the user can manipulate the crown 10 to add any of these while the golf ball remains supported and held above the turf. Suitably, the ball-and-socket joint can be manipulated such that the angle of the crown relative to the ground can be adjusted to tilt between 75 and 105 degrees while holding a golf ball by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the socket and relative to the lower stem. Suitably, the crown points or edges 11 can be provided to the dimples or turbulator of a golf ball so that the golf ball is more securely positioned on the crown of the improved tee whereby the ball is retained in its teed up state despite the pitch, yaw, or roll of the crown being manipulated relative to the ground or turf.

Although the method and apparatus is described above in terms of various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead might be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the disclosed method and apparatus, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. The principles of the disclosure may be applied to a traditional golf tee; thus, the breadth and scope of the claimed invention should not be limited by any of the above-described embodiments.

Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open-ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like, the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof, the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more,” or the like, and adjectives such as “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the item described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that might be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.

The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases might be absent. The use of the term “assembly” does not imply that the components or functionality described or claimed as part of the module are all configured in a common package. Indeed, any or all of the various components of a module, whether control logic or other components, might be combined in a single package or separately maintained and might further be distributed across multiple locations.

Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams, flow charts and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives might be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.

All original claims submitted with this specification are incorporated by reference in their entirety as if fully set forth herein. 

We claim:
 1. An improved golf tee comprising: an upper crown with a ball; and a lower stem with a socket; wherein the crown and stem are connected by the ball and the socket joined as a ball-and-socket joint; and, wherein the angle of the crown relative to the ground is adjusted from an initial position to secondary positions by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the ball-and-socket joint and relative to the lower stem.
 2. The upper crown of claim 1 further comprising eight crown arms.
 3. The crown arms of claim 2 further comprising rounded crown edges.
 4. The rounded crown edges of claim 3 wherein the edges are equal in size to a turbulator of a golf ball.
 5. The upper crown of claim 1 further comprising a crown base.
 6. The crown base of claim 5 wherein the crown base is attached to the ball of the ball-and-socket joint.
 7. The lower stem of claim 1 further comprising a stem base.
 8. The lower stem of claim 1 further comprising the socket attached to the opposite end of the stem base.
 9. The ball-and-socket joint of claim 1 wherein the socket has at least one socket cutout.
 10. The ball-and-socket joint of claim 1 wherein the angle of the crown relative to the ground can be adjusted to tilt between 75 and 105 degrees while holding a golf ball by adjusting the yaw, pitch, and roll of the crown within the socket and relative to the lower stem. 